Truth in Love
by Heartless.Forever
Summary: Bella had everything until her world came crashing down during her sophomore year, leaving her a complete outcast. When she moves back to Forks for her senior year, will a new family accept her or believe in the lies? All-human, Edward/Bella.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Alright, another rewrite, it's my _thing _apparently. I have a lot of ideas brewing up in my mind, really excited to finally get the chance to write them down. This story will be different in a lot of the ways, the plot and scenarios have been changed, obviously, where would the fun be in reading the exact same thing twice. I'm trying to keep the characters of Edward/Bella relatively close to those of the first version, especially Edward, I liked him :).

I'm not sure where this story will go in the long run, but I am inviting you readers to join me on the ride.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or Just Listen/The Truth About Forever (which are two books by Sarah Dessen that are loosely used in this story).

* * *

_"Usually, when a person has a guest over to their home, it's polite to ask them if they would like something to drink or eat…"_

_I snorted, "You haven't been a 'guest' here since like 1998. Your fatass can walk downstairs, that's what those things called legs are for, transportation. Well, that, and also to get guys to run at your beck and call."_

_"Come on," she laughed. "I'm having a lazy moment."_

_"No shit," I smirked. "Now your madg-ass-ty, what would you like this afternoon? A bottle of our finest vintage merlot, juicy fillet minion, gigantic lobster? Oh, I know, caviar looks more up your alley for today."_

_We giggled at my horrible attempt at a butler's accent. "I was thinking more on the lines of a turkey sandwich and a coke."_

_"Fancy," I nodded. "Would you like me to ask the chef to cut the crust off for you?"_

_"No, no, I'm not about to get bossy."_

_I pushed myself off of the bed, groaning loudly, adding to the dramatics. "I need a fucking raise, or at least a decent tip."_

_"Here's a tip, get a fucking move on it," she smiled up at me innocently. _

_"I hate you."_

_"I really do love you, you know that, right?" _

_"Don't try to suck up now," I rolled my eyes, leaning against the door. "But, yeah, I love you too."_

_"Best friends?"_

_"Forever," I smiled._

_I skipped down the steps, only managing to trip once, but it was my own fault for leaving a shoe there. I wouldn't tell Vicky though, the last thing I needed was her mocking me even more for my lack of coordination. We would get into one of our fights. She'd call me Mr. Tumbles and I would have to shoot back with the always hilarious, Firecrotch. The Third World War would eventually break out, and then who would help me with my Spanish homework?_

_I made one of my famous sandwiches, at least dad had christened them to be of a higher power, but he will eat anything that comes on a stick or drizzled in ketchup, so he wasn't really the best judge. I should get a good tip for making this, it took effort._

_"It's a hard knock life for me, it's a hard knock life for me, something something, don't know the words, something something, Vicky is a bitch..." I sang loudly, hoping she would hear._

_I started to pour some coke into a glass, humming songs from Annie, which always pissed her off, something about growing up with red hair and being compared to her. I still loved the mean glares she would send me when I referred to her father as Daddy Warbucks._

_A loud popping sound startled me out of the second verse of Tomorrow. I was waiting for something else to follow it, another pop, but there was nothing but silence, a deafening silence. The air in the room felt different, even a little off. My bones rattled through my body, down to my feet. What the fuck? I ran over to the front window, staring out at the street, wondering if it was my neighbor's car backfiring._

_Goddamn, she must have found the movie in the floorboard._

_"Vicky you better not have put Scarface on up there, I hid that movie for a reason! The last thing I need is to hear your bad Al Pacino impressions again," I yelled from the bottom step. "I'm not kidding, I nearly killed myself by the fifth day of hearing about 'your little friend'."_

_I was met with silence. Masters always ignoring the help._

_"Yo, Tony Montana, give a girl a little shout out!" I said louder, in my best Cuban accent._

_I groaned, slowly ascending the steps, she better not be trying to scare me. I was already picturing her with a plastic knife and hockey mask, screaming at me until I piss my pants. There's a reason I don't go see horror flicks, it's her._

_"Promise me right now that you won't pop out from somewhere when I come in," I sighed, standing outside of my bedroom door. This was getting old, she did this to me last week too, I almost ran down the stairs, breaking my leg in the process._

_"This isn't funny, stop it right now, I'll kick your ass," I warned. "...I'll tell James Klein that you have a huge crush on him."_

_Silence._

_The overwhelming scent of salt and rust hit me, my entire body tensing, stomach contents gurgling instinctively. This didn't happen last time. __I took a terrified step back, my foot slipping while doing so, causing me to fall back onto the hardwood floor with a loud thud. Fuck, that hurt._

_When I looked down to see what I had slid on, I couldn't help the loud shriek of disgust that escaped my mouth._

_"Holy shit…"_

_The red content on my shoes had me stunned. I looked beneath the door, all I could see was red, flooding out from underneath the crack. What the hell was going on? This was real blood. She'd never do that to me, unless..._

_I'd never known the feeling of complete numbness until that point, but I could not move or speak, my eyes locked on the floor for a few moments._

_"Vicky!" I screamed. "Answer me, Vicky! Please!"_

_I slipped my cell phone out of my pocket, with shaky hands, I dialed 911. This was not happening, it couldn't, it was Vicky..._

_Not that I knew what was happening exactly, nothing made sense._

_"911, what's your emergency?"_

_"Um, I, oh god," I said, almost inaudibly. "Something happened t-to my friend, I, um, don't know. I need help!"_

_"Okay, ma'am, I need you to explain to me what is happening."_

_I did the only thing I could think of to do, I cried, tears flowing from my eyes too quickly to keep up with. "There's blood, under the door. I think I'm going to be sick."_

_I held onto my stomach, pushing myself off of the floor and running into the bathroom. I could hear muffled speaking through the phone, but I lifted the lid of the seat, throwing up my lunch from earlier. Blood, I couldn't handle all of that blood. I continued to sob, wiping at the corners of my mouth, wanting to be rid of all of the disgusting waste. I don't understand, I don't understand-_

_"I don't understand!" I yelled, hitting the floor with an angry fist._

_"Ma'am, can you hear me? Ma'am?"_

_I picked up the phone, placing it to my ear. "I need my dad, please, I need him here."_

_"We have traced your number and are sending over an ambulance now, I'm going to stay on the line with you until paramedics arrive."_

_"Okay, okay. I need my dad, please, can you get him?"_

_"I don't understand-"_

_"He's the Chief, I need him, please."_

_I shut the phone, not having the strength to talk with the operator. I brought my legs to my chest, hugging my arms over them, while placing my head down onto my knees. I rocked back and forth, trying to stay calm. Fuck, that wouldn't happen._

_"No, no, no, no…"_

_It had felt like hours, agonizing moments in time that I needed to go away. Before I knew what was happening, I heard my name being shouted from a far distance. I prayed that it was Vicky, that she finally came to her senses and decided not to scare me. The shouting kept on getting closer, but my mouth wasn't connected to my brain, not allowing me to speak._

_"Bells!" The bathroom door opened, a flash of blue uniform was all I saw as two arms tightly wrapped around my shaking body. "Bella, baby girl, I thought it was you…I thought something happened to you."_

_I cried into his chest, wanting everything to go away. I didn't even feel safe in the arms of my own father, the protector, nothing felt right._

_"Vicky-"_

_"I know, I saw." His words were hard to hear, coming out strangled, uncharacteristically Charlie._

_"Is she?" I asked softly._

_Please say no, please say no, please. It was all a mistake, this was some weird nightmare. I ate something bad before bed and this was punishment. Fuck, I shouldn't have made fun of that stupid dream catcher Jake gave me. Wake up, come on Bella, open your eyes-_

_"She's gone, sweetheart."_

_*_

"This is your pilot speaking, we will be arriving at William R. Fairchild International Airport momentarily, please buckle your seatbelts as we will be descending. Have a great stay in the wonderful state of Washington."

I gulped.

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**Thoughts? :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Sorry about the confusion at the beginning of the story for some of you. This will be in BPOV always, just to clarify. This took a lot longer than I wanted it to, I have strep throat, which is slowly killing me, makes me wonder how much worse the fucking Swine Flu would be. This is kind of a filler chapter, since Bella and Edward aren't friends yet, but it will happen soon.

Thanks for all of the reviews/alerts, they put a smile on my face :).

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I took a sip of my coffee, hating the taste as it went down, usually I never drink the stuff, but I was exhausted. The thought of going back to Forks high really was messing with my head.

Why was I doing this again?

Oh, right. I couldn't stand being around the lovey-dovey squad, also known as Renee and Phil, any longer. The cutesy talk, stolen glances, innocent touches in the kitchen. It was all making me ill.

I had no problem with either of them, it was mostly my own self-deprecation that kept me from being happy for the two of them.

"Bells, you look tired."

I looked at him from the corner of my eyes, he looked worn out as well. I wasn't the only one who had suffered the consequences for what she had done. I couldn't even confront her, tell her that there were other options, it didn't have to happen that way. I could have righted it.

"Good morning to you, too."

I rolled my eyes, chugging down the rest of my bitter tasting coffee. Hopefully it will kick in sometime soon, I needed it to get through the bound to be horrible day. The town "murderer", as they liked to phrase it, would be returning. It's kind of like Mark David Chapman returning to The Dakota, except nothing like that, plus I doubt Yoko Ono would be at school today.

He sat down across from me with a groan. I knew that look on his face, I've been dreading it the entire time that I have been here.

"Shoot."

"What?" he looked up in shock.

"That probably wasn't the best word to choose," I sighed. "What I meant was, if you are going to say something, just get it over with."

"Oh, yeah, of course," he nodded. "Have you given anymore consideration to what Renee had said?"

Great, now him too.

"You're referring to the whole home schooling thing." It wasn't a question, I knew what he was getting at.

"It would be easier for you, Renee thinks that it is a good idea…"

"She also thought you could cook hamburgers in the microwave, that didn't turn out well, and now I have to live with scars from the grease. The way I look at it is, there are only seven months until I graduate, it will go quickly. I've worked my butt off trying to catch up on all of my school work so I wouldn't have to stay back. I want to finish my senior year."

It sounded convincing enough coming out of my mouth, I wasn't sure if I had meant it though. Things would be hard, way harder than I could imagine, but I wanted school. It's what makes me actually feel normal right now. Waking up early, cursing the world for not giving me anything to wear, and going off to a public institution where I am taught things I'll never need when I'm older. It's called the life of a teenager and I needed it.

"Okay, but you don't have to start today, you can take a few personal days. I can clear it with the office, that way-"

"I'm going, alright," I smiled half-heartedly. "It will be fine, and if it's not, then maybe I'll do the whole home school thing."

There wasn't a chance in hell I would stay cooped up in the house day after day, but it seemed to reassure him.

"I'm only asking for you to think about it," he smiled. "I want you to be okay again, it's all I want."

"Dad," I sighed. "Can we not talk about this right now? Morning discussions are supposed to be uplifting."

"So should we talk about the weather?"

"We live in Forks, there's nothing uplifting about our weather," I laughed. "I have to leave anyways, I must have hours of paperwork to fill out."

"All taken care of, but you do need to grab your schedule and gym clothes in the office."

"Gym," I said, pretending to gag. "Maybe you could pull out one of your Chief perks and get me out of that class."

"You're the one adamant on going back to school, gym is part of the full experience, I wouldn't want you to miss out on that," he smirked.

"Wow, Officer Swan, nicely played." I stood up, grabbing my bag off of the floor, tossing it over my shoulder. "You seem to forget who makes the meals around here."

"You seem to forget who pays for the gas in your car."

"Damn, you're good, no wonder they made you the chief," I gave him a quick hug. "I'll see you later tonight?"

"Yeah, you going to be alright by yourself here for a few hours?"

It wasn't a well kept secret that being alone in the house made me uncomfortable, everything that happened here replays in my mind when I'm alone. For the past few days since arriving here I usually drove out to Port Angeles or stayed at the library while he was working, that way I could push the thoughts out of my head. I still couldn't even go upstairs yet. Thank god he had decided to clear out the old storage room and make it my bedroom, that way I could stay on the first floor at all times.

"I might go to the library," I replied while acting nonchalant.

"If you want to come by the station, it would be fine. Sue might have a few things for you to do, maybe earn a little cash."

"I'll think about it," I nodded. "Have a good day, bye."

I drove to school with my lip clamped beneath my teeth, a habit that has been a constant occurrence during the past few months, turning my once healthy lips into a chapped war zone. My nerves were getting the best of me. My poor fingernails had been a victim as well. Next up, maybe hair tugging? Nothing is sexier than premature balding.

Everyone knew about my arrival already. When I had gone to the grocery store a few days ago, I was stared at the entire time, a few kids who were about my age were texting, probably spreading the word. This was the biggest news in town since, well, nothing exciting has happened.

All eyes were on my truck as I pulled into the parking lot, a year ago I would have thought it was only because my car was louder than a monster truck and a complete eyesore, but that wasn't the case this time. I parked in a spot close to the entrance, taking a deep breath, before turning off the truck.

"Remember Bella, you wanted this, no more lovey-dovey Renee and Phil, this is so much better," I said to myself, calmly.

"But will it be? What if this sucks, alright, it will suck. I just don't know how much. Now I'm talking to myself, which isn't crazy at all…"

Pull yourself together.

I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat, before opening my door, which creaked loudly in response. I should have Jake look at that, if he'll even talk to me. I hadn't been the easiest of friends over the last year. I shivered, the cool October air is very different when compared to the weather in Phoenix, at least I didn't have to deal with the smoldering temperatures anymore. I could look forward to the beautifully wet...rain.

I hate being watched, you get that prickly feeling against your skin and all the hairs on your neck stand up. I was now feeling that, multiplied by a hundred, which is why I found myself practically running for the door.

After getting a few things from the office, the look Mrs. Cope gave me didn't go unnoticed, I found my locker. It was in a very deserted area of the school, away from most of the other kids, which was a good thing. I couldn't help but wonder if they gave me this spot for a reason. Parents probably called in complaining, they didn't want their child to be placed near Charles Manson or something.

I was the first one in English, the teacher placed me in the back corner of the room. Now people wouldn't stare at me, at least they couldn't do it discreetly, but knowing everyone here, subtle wasn't something that they could really do. The more kids that came into the room, the more I became aware of the whispering that was going on around me. A lot of, "is that her" and "holy shit, it's true, she's back". I wanted to just shout at them all, these were the same people who were once my friends.

Friends don't last forever, apparently.

I kept my eyes on the syllabus in front of me, doing my best to appear unaffected. Everyone who had walked into the room sat noticeably far from where I was, like I could kill them if I even breathed in their vicinity.

The seat next to me pushed out, my desk shaking slightly. I chanced a glance at my left, a guy was sitting at the desk with biceps thicker than my entire body, maybe even larger. He didn't look familiar, and he's the kind of person you don't overlook. I didn't realize that I had been staring until his head turned to look at me. I did what I would have done last year when someone looked my way, I gave him a kind smile, getting a reaction I should have expected. His brows furrowed, mouth parted slightly, overall, he looked shocked.

He must have heard, _everyone _else in this town had.

I looked away, feeling dejected. I might have gotten my hopes up a little, to have one person in this town, other than my dad, who was actually on my side. This was high school though, the peak of judgment, I should know better than to think too highly of people.

Class went by in a blur, along with my next three. I kept my eyes on the teachers, hoping that would distract me from the constant whispers and glares. It didn't. At least people weren't confronting me, that's a good thing, right? Yeah, I don't know.

I had been dreading lunch almost as much as gym, it would end up being some awkward Mean Girls-esque moment, expect Lindsay Lohan made friends, I've just lost all mine. I wish life could be more glamorous, like in the movies. Although, all I need is a stalker and a drug addiction and I could get a movie of the week on Lifetime.

My only hope for lunch was that there would be an empty table somewhere, which there usually was, the school is not too populated. I walked towards the cafeteria with my head held high, I was uncomfortable, but they didn't need to know that.

I went straight to the lunch line, grabbing whatever seemed to be the most edible, which turned out to be a red apple and lemonade. No wonder half the girls here looked as if they had eating disorders, or maybe they just did. When I turned to inspect the room for an empty table, I found that everyone's eyes were on me. As I glanced around I couldn't help but feel relieved, there was one open table left in the corner of the cafeteria. Next to that table was another one filled with four new people, one of whom was the guy who I had stupidly smiled at in English this morning.

He was probably telling all of his little friends that the school freak was gawking at him earlier, fantastic.

I started walking towards the table, listening to the snickering around me, I preferred when they were silently hating me. The table of four new people were watching my every move, confused looks on there faces, maybe they thought that I might try to sit with them. My eyes averted back to the empty table, to my surprise and unhappiness, there was now somebody sitting there. I couldn't see the person's face, it was covered by a black hood, and they were hovered over an Ipod. At least someone wasn't staring at me.

I stopped walking, feeling even dumber now that I was standing in between two tables looking completely clueless. The library wouldn't be the worst place to eat, that's where all the social outcasts are forced to go.

I turned around to make an exit, knocking into something, or two plastic things, also known as Lauren Mallory's "boobs". They seemed to get bigger the summer before sophomore year, when she went away to "camp". Nobody talks about them, at least not around her, she was kind of a bitch. A _huge _bitch.

"Hey Swan, didn't I see you on America's Most Wanted last night?" she smirked.

I rolled my eyes as I attempted to move past her, but she stepped in front of me once again. We continued this until we were doing one of those awkward dances of who should go first, except she was doing it on purpose.

"Can I please get by?" I sighed.

"I wanted to have a chat with you, just a pair of old friends getting reacquainted with one another, you know how it goes."

"We were never friends," I said quietly, crossing my arms over my chest. Tomorrow I might want to rethink the whole eating in the cafeteria thing.

"That's true, I usually don't associate myself with killers, but I thought that we could talk." Her evil smile told me that talking with her was something that I should definitely not do, especially after such a long day.

"I'd rather not."

"Got more innocent people to shoot, is that why you came back here?"

"I didn't shoot anyone, but thanks for your concern."

I never liked Lauren, and I would say that even if I wasn't a social pariah. Vicky was friends with her, which I never understood, but that was Vicky for you. She was always accepting people, no matter what the circumstances were, she was big on thinking highly of everyone. I was all for that, there should be some guidelines though, like the person has to have a heart. Lauren would always act all sweet when Vicky was around, but when she left the room it was like being around Hitler or something.

I hope Vicky is looking down, shaking her head in disgust. Maybe she could haunt her or some shit, make my life a little easier.

"No one wants you here, go back to wherever you were. You wrecked everyone's lives, I bet you haven't even seen Vicky's parents, they are fucked up because of you. Now you come back here and parade around like you did nothing wrong, rubbing it in our faces, we don't need that shit."

I've learned quickly how to contain my emotions, being around my overly pushy mom was difficult, especially after everything that happened. She would comment on every facial expression that I made, asking me constantly if I was alright, so the best thing to do was to just shut off. I now kept on my "okay" face when I was around other people.

"I'm not trying to do anything, just finishing my senior year-"

"Do it somewhere else." There was an added growl to her voice as she took a step closer to me. "Fuck off, for good."

She walked away, leaving me standing there with my head held low. Maybe Charlie and Renee were right, I should do home schooling. It might be beneficial to my mental state if I just stay inside, trapped like a lab rat, not having to listen to what other people have to say. First, I might have to convince Charlie to sell the house, that way I can actually stay inside.

The noise started around me, bringing me back from my thoughts. I looked up at what would have been my empty table and was met with two intense emerald green eyes staring back at me. My breathing faltered as I took in the unbelievably good-looking new guy, which might have been understating it, he was comparable to a God. His looks weren't even what I was surprised by most, my attention was focused on his expression.

For the first time in a year I was looking back at an emotionless face. There was no guilt, anger, pity, sadness, disgust, it was just…blank.

He looked away after a brief moment, bringing all of his attention back to his Ipod, scrolling through to a different song and nodding his head lightly to whatever music was pumping out of the earplugs.

To avoid anymore possible embarrassing moments, I decided to walk out of the cafeteria, not looking at any of the other kids. Lauren Mallory wasn't the only asshole in school, it's better than Mike Newton and his stupid friends.

After spending the remainder of my lunch period in a bathroom stall, listening to freshmen girls debate over two different shades of lip gloss, I went to my next class, Biology. I've always been good at science, much more interesting than history or math. When I got into the class I grabbed my book from Mr. Banner, before he directed me to which table I would be at.

I took my seat, appreciating that it was in the back away from everyone. I skimmed through the pages, thinking about what I would do after school today, obviously going home wouldn't be an option, seeing as though Charlie wouldn't be home until later on in the night. I could go to the grocery store, but that would mean going back home to put them away. There is always the library, or to the Port Angeles bookstore, maybe I will just go to the station, or-

The stool next to me pushed out, my body immediately tensed at the thought of having to sit next to someone for the rest of the year, especially if they would be giving me weird looks or whispering to their friends about me. Ugh, what if it's Lauren, that would be hell.

I glanced at the top of the table, a black Ipod was being held in between two hands, two very large hands. My eyes slowly traveled up his sweatshirt covered arms, to the chiseled jaw, until I met those eyes, again. It soon hit me that he was staring back, my face reddened as I looked away, shielding my face with my hair. Stop looking at him, he's really going to think that you're a psycho.

Mr. Banner gave us silent reading time shortly after my awkward stare off with my stranger of a partner. Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley were seated in front of us, which I would usually ignore, but they kept turning around and whispering loudly to each other.

"He could beat the shit out of someone, and then she can finish the job off," Mike laughed at his own joke.

What do they mean he? Who's he?

"They're the perfect couple," she replied.

"Too bad the police took the gun into possession, now she's going to need to find a new one. I bet the Chief has more stashed away somewhere."

"No, I bet he locked them away from that bitch, too scared she would kill him while he's asleep."

"That's probably true, I wouldn't want to live with that fucking freak."

I gripped the sides of my text book, attempting to ignore the nasty comments, it was only the beginning. The worst part was that I could feel my lab partner looking at me, it was making my face even redder.

For the rest of class I kept my face covered by my hands, only keeping my eyes averted to the book in front of me. I read the same paragraph twenty times, hoping that it would be enough to block out my surroundings, which didn't work. _That day_ kept playing over and over in my head, causing my heart speed to quicken and my teeth to clamp over my lip tightly.

When the bell finally rang, I couldn't help but praise the lord, even if I would have to go to gym now. The room cleared out quickly, I took a deep breath, before grabbing my things and standing up. I started walking as my foot caught on the bottom of the stool, my body braced itself for impact as I fell, but I stopped a few inches above the floor, lifting up slowly. It took me a moment to realize that there were two strong hands on my waist.

I steadied myself, looking down at the mess of books on the floor, turning to see who had just saved me from what could have been another trip to the emergency room.

"Um, t-t-thanks?" I said to the guy who was still a complete mystery to me.

"You're welcome?" he smirked, before leaning down and picking up my things.

"You don't have to do that-"

"It's cool," he held them out for me. I took them, smiling tentatively, for all I knew this could be some kind of welcome back prank. Let's have someone be nice to Bella, and then make her feel like an even bigger shit.

Without another word, he walked away, earplugs going back into his ears like nothing had happened. Something told me that Biology this year would be very interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Sorry about the lack of updates, my life is a little hectic right now. I just got a job and I'm in the last few weeks of school before winter break, so projects/papers are getting thrown my way. I should have an update for Masters of War soon, a lot of it is written, I just need to fill in some of the middle parts, yeah, it will get done.

Thank you for all of the reviews, I love reading them. A few more wouldn't help, if you catch my drift ;).

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The rest of the week passed slowly by, to my own disdain, each day grew more and more awful. I assumed, by assume I mean prayed, that everything would get better. Unfortunately, the rumors just seemed to become more and more frequent as the days went on, not to mention harsher.

My personal favorite being that I was a distant cousin of the late Ted Bundy, because all murderers are obviously related. I probably shouldn't tell them about uncle Manson and his merry group of friends.

Lauren continually made my days a living hell. Whether it was photo shopping my face on some hillbilly's mug shot or sticking an America's Most Wanted sticker onto my back. And that is just one person, multiply that by the rest of the school, and it equals my dreadful, horrible, unfortunate life.

Well, not everyone was being douchebags. There were the "freakishly quiet five", as the kids called them, which is a lot better and more politically correct than the term Jessica directed towards me the other day.

They were new kids that apparently moved to town at the end of last year, all together, all adopted and all quiet. At least when it comes to everyone else, they only associated with one another, minus the bronze mystery guy who doesn't speak with anyone, ever. Except for me, for two seconds, but from what I hear, it is more than anyone else has gotten.

I found out that his name is Edward, I may have snuck a glance at his paper when his pen fell on the floor, I may have also gotten a good glance at the exposed skin that became visible during the whole bending over thing. I couldn't help it, he was hot. Hot might even be an understatement. He was gorgeous.

How Lauren and Jessica can keep their legs closed while around him is beyond me, seeing as though they are usually open for the rest of the Forks under thirty crowd.

He hadn't talked to me since, or even looked at me. The kind gesture that he made was a one time thing. He wasn't scared, like most of the guys were around me, his expression remained blank. Sometimes I wondered if he actually existed, he was like a ghost. Moving around everywhere so undetected and quickly, but people talked about him, about his anger issues.

Mr. Bronze Mystery seemed to have a temper, which was very well known in the tiny town of Forks.

I wonder if Charlie knew anything about him, since he has gotten in trouble with the police a few times, again that is just what the kids at school talked about. So it might just be a lie. Even if the whole bad boy thing was a turn on, but no one talked or noticed me, it didn't matter. I would have to wait for male attention, college wasn't too far, right? Mhmm.

Life at home was another story completely. Being in that house felt wrong, I was always in a state of panic and paranoia. The ghost of Vicky wouldn't be floating around my house, quoting bad teen movies and calling me a whore, but I still pictured it, and the image in my head alone was terrifying. I had to be out of there as much as possible, which is why I had been dreading the weekend.

Saturday was spent in Port Angeles, and I mean all day. Left at seven in the morning and didn't get back until eleven. I probably read the back of every single book at the book store, some backs more than once.

Sunday, Charlie had been home all day, thank god. I spent half of it at the grocery store, stalling by looking over every type of cereal there was, I got to 173 before some old lady gave me a dirty look and I moved on. I then went back to the house, organized the entire kitchen, scrubbed any surface that was reachable, and avoided the concerned looks that dad was throwing at me.

Monday morning had gone averagely, only a few jokes about murder, which there is never anything humorous about death, but that's high school for you. To make matters worse, the library was closed during lunch period. I had spent the last few days in there, eating my lunch and reading books, avoiding everyone.

I couldn't spend the hour in the bathroom, junior girls seem to hang out in there, discussing the most important world topics around today, dicks and makeup.

I grabbed my lunch from my locker, annoyed. The last time I attempted to eat with the rest of my class, it didn't actually go over well, with me walking out, embarrassed.

When I walked into the cafeteria, the anxiety hit me like a brick. Lauren's table was eyeing me, Mike Newton had a stupid smirk on his face. I can't believe I once called some of these people my friends.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth when I saw that the table that Edward usually sat at was empty. I quickly made my way over to it, taking the seat across from where he usually would sit, so that I was facing the other tables. In case someone decided to throw something at me, at least I would somewhat prepared.

I glanced over at the table with the other four new kids. To my surprise, they were all staring at me with curious expressions. They've never seen a girl accused of murdering her best friend sit at a table by herself before? Jesus Christ.

The chair across the table scraped across the floor as someone sat down. I was ready to hear whatever shit Lauren was going to say, but when I looked up, I saw Edward sitting there. He didn't even acknowledge my presences, instead he kept his head lowered to stare down at his Ipod, the hood of his sweatshirt covered the top of his head, hiding the out of control bronze hair that he usually sported.

I ate my turkey sandwich in comfortable silence, it's nice being around somebody who doesn't talk shit at any given moment.

In between bites I would chance a glance his way, he was never looking at me, thank god. I didn't need to see his look of annoyance. He was probably pissed that the new creeper was sitting at his table. He wouldn't hurt me though. I mean, yes, he does have a bad temper, but it's not like he's a woman beater. Although, I did overhear Eric say she heard something…

"Aw, well if it isn't Bonnie and Clyde, how adorable."

I looked up to find Lauren smirking at me, Jessica smiling next to her like the bitchy lapdog that she is. I knew lunch was going too well.

"Wait, no. Did Bonnie ever kill anyone?" They both cackled like a couple of school girls.

"I don't know," Jessica laughed. "Did Clyde ever go to anger management?"

"It wouldn't matter if he did, Bonnie would just shoot him in her bedroom and then play it off like it was a suicide."

I averted my eyes to the table top, trying to act as if I was unaffected by their snarky comments. They just walked away, laughing, both most likely having an ego boost from my discomfort.

The bell rang after a few moments, I sighed, looking up at my table guest. He was staring at me intently, my face reddened, and I got up from my seat quickly. I threw my trash away, walking at a run-like pace out of the cafeteria to my locker.

His music apparently wasn't blocking out everything, he had heard what they had said. If he didn't think that I was a psycho freak already, then that really put a nail in the coffin of my dead friend. Thank you Vicky, thank you so fucking much.

Goddamn. I couldn't even think that without feeling guilty. I just needed to have somebody to be mad at, because right about now, I was the only one to be pissed off at. I wish that I could have prevented everything from happening, it's as much my fault as it is any ones.

I sat down in my seat, sighing. Biology, that's the last thing I needed, more time spent next to Edward. He obviously did not want to have to be near me, I wouldn't blame him. I was a complete outcast.

Edward came into the room just as the late bell rang, taking his seat next to me, quietly. He continued to listen to his Ipod, keeping it hidden from Mr. Banner, who was giving a small introduction to the film that we would be watching that day. At least a movie might distract me a little.

Yeah, it didn't fucking help. Ugh.

The movie had been playing for ten minutes and I was going out of my mind. My legs wouldn't stop fidgeting, they were ready to walk out. I needed to get out of this school, even some fresh air would help right about now.

I planned on going to the station after school today. Sue Clearwater had become a lifesaver for me, she was the secretary down there and would give me small tasks to do around the place, I usually spent the duration of my dad's work time organizing drawers, or making a doughnut run. Cliché, I know.

I concentrated on the film, only looking over occasionally at Edward's moving fingers. They were tapping against the table top, most likely to the beat of whatever he had been listening too. I quickly found out over the past few days of me being here that he always had his Ipod. You could never find him without it. I'm still not sure how he got away with listening to it in class.

I wanted to know what songs were playing. My guess was all of that shitty rap music playing on the radio, or maybe some hardcore rock. I have no clue.

The clock said that there were three minutes left before the bell would ring again, which could not come quick enough for me. Gym was all I needed to get through, it wasn't so bad since nobody passed me the ball, ever. It's not because I'm a murder suspect, but more so the fact that I lack any kind of coordination. I get that from my mother, at least I didn't get too much from my father, like his mustache.

Something moved in my peripheral vision, a small piece of folded paper was set in front of me. When I looked over at Edward, he appeared as if he hadn't moved at all. What the hell was that?

The bell rang, Edward walking out immediately, hands in his sweatshirt pocket and Ipod blaring.

I grabbed my stuff, before hesitantly slipping the paper into my own pocket. It probably said something along the lines of - "Hey Freak, could you not sit with me at lunch anymore, you are really creepy. Oh, and stop looking at me, fucking loser."

After barely making it through a basketball game in gym, where I was _accidentally _knocked in the back of the head with the ball by Mike Newton, I made it back to my car, breathing freely. The school day was officially over, now on to more reality, before going back to the house later.

As I drove to the station, I couldn't help but feel the imaginary hole that the note in my pocket was burning. I had been too nervous to read it before gym, and was still a little scared.

"Bella, you made it today," Sue exclaimed, smiling sweetly at me.

"Yeah, didn't have anything else to do."

"No cute boys taking you out on any dates?" she smirked.

"Only in my dreams," I laughed half-heartedly.

"The only thing you better be dreaming about young lady is teddy bears and cotton candy."

I turned around to find my dad, giving me a pointed look, while Sue chuckled at his protectiveness. Sometimes he thought that I was still eight.

"She is practically an adult Charlie, can't keep her locked up forever."

"She is not allowed to date until she is at least thirty, no, forty."

"This she that you are talking about is in the room, and would prefer not to be talked about, thank you. Now, if you would put me to work, I can get on with the day."

"Work, work, work," Sue shook her head. "You are worse than your old man here."

"She might be worse," he smirked at me. I rolled my eyes, looking over at Sue.

"Alright dear, all you have to do today is drive this box of files over to the hospital and hand them to Gianna, she is the secretary to one of the doctors down there. She will know what to do with them. Then you are free to go home."

"Um, yeah, I actually am going to run to the library after I do this."

"Will you be home after me?" Charlie asked with a sigh. He already knew the answer to that.

"Probably," I nodded.

"Do you know how to get to the hospital?" Sue asked.

I looked over at Charlie and we both started cracking up at the question. Did I know how to get to the hospital? I basically have a plaque on the walls for how many times I have been there during my life.

I said a quick goodbye to each of them, before grabbing the box, and loading it into my car. I was dreading having to spend the rest of my night at the library, seeing as though I had been there basically everyday since moving back. I'm pretty sure that the workers were getting a little freaked out by the daily visit.

"I'm looking for Gianna?"

"That's me, what can I do for you sweetie?"

I felt what little confidence that I had left diminish as I looked over the secretary. She was what when would call the epitome of the perfect woman, boobs half out and all. She was one of those types who knew that she was good looking, flipping her hair like a snobby cheerleader. She made me feel kind of shitty.

"I have a box of files from the police station that I'm supposed to drop off here."

"Oh yeah!" She stood up, bouncing over to where I was, literally bouncing. "I have totally been waiting for this all day, thank you."

"It's _totally _no problem." Her brains must be in her chest.

I rolled my eyes when she started bending over and going through the box, a few of the male nurses were admiring the view. I'm glad these are the people who are supposed to be taking blood, safe.

I rubbed at my tired eyes, walking away from the brainless twit. Like my night couldn't get any worse-

My body hit something hard, sending me flying back onto the floor, my wrist immediately felt the impact, a shot of pain went through it. I sighed, bringing my arm up to my face, examining the damage that had been done. At least it wasn't broken, I would know from experience.

"Fuck, Emmett, look what you did you fat ass."

"Dude, I didn't see her, she's like a midget."

I looked up to find three figures standing over me, three very fine and familiar figures. My face reddened when I saw Edward standing there, Ipod in his ears, looking down at me curiously. Next to him were two other guys that were new as well, one of them being the big guy that sat next to me in English. He was rubbing the back of his neck, sighing.

"Are you alright?" The blonde guy asked, I didn't have any classes with him, but he was one of the silent five.

"Uh, yeah?" It came out as a question, and I rubbed my already bruising wrist.

"Shit, I broke her wrist, dad is going to kill me. Maybe he won't be that mad, since we are already in the hospital. If anything, I should get points for doing it in a convenient place."

"Yeah, Em, that's how it will work out." The blonde guy rolled his eyes, squatting down to look at my injury. "We should get this checked out, my dad can-"

"It's fine, just a small sprain."

"Are you a doctor?" The Emmett guy asked with a serious expression. Did he really think that I was, how dumb could you be?

"Yeah, the name is Doogie Howser, M.D."

Edward snorted, causing me to look up at him. He threw me an expression that I didn't quite follow, before looking down at my arm, that the blonde guy was still holding.

"I thought your name was Bella, that chick who-"

"Emmett!" Blonde guy yelled, I yanked my arm back to my lap, feeling like a dumbass for still being on the floor and for what he almost said about me. They believed the lies, fantastic.

"I, um, should get going."

I got up slowly, using my good arm, in the process almost falling again. Was there anything not humiliating about this experience?

"Not until you get your arm checked."

"I told you, it's fine."

Emmett sighed, "At least let us get you an ice pack."

"No, that's alrig-"

"We will get you one, now sit down in that seat and stop refusing."

I sighed, taking the seat he was pointing at, looking over at the big guy who seemed pleased with himself.

I expected all of them to walk away, but the blonde one and Emmett just took off down the hall, Blondie shoving his brother in the shoulder. I sat there, biting my bottom lip, trying to keep my leg from tapping a hole into the floor. Edward was standing next to me, and I could feel his eyes on my nervous self. I imagine this is what it would be like to live under a microscope. I was wishing that I had read the note, so I at least knew what he thought of me.

"You can leave you know."

It was so quiet, I wasn't sure if it was actually said. I looked up to see his emerald eyes looking into my own.

"What?"

"I don't care if you just go." It came out harsh, I had to swallow the bile that seemed to rise at the distaste he had for me. What did I care what he thought anyway? For some reason I did though.

I stood up, muttering a whatever, before walking past him.

When I got to the parking lot, I started walking towards my car. I felt like I was being watched. and then I heard footsteps behind me. Great, now some psycho is going to rape me or something.

I looked over my shoulder, surprised at what I saw. He was following me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Following you in my car to make sure you make it home alright," he shrugged.

"No, you can't."

"Why?" he smirked. "Don't want the school freak following you home."

"Seeing as how I am the freak here, it's hard for me not to follow me home, but thanks anyway. Go back to your friends."

"Not until I make sure you make it back fine."

"I'm not going home."

"Then I'll follow you to where you're going. Why are you so stubborn?"

"Why are you so persistent on following me? I'll be fine, I always am."

"Fine is a filler word, it doesn't actually mean anything," he pointed out. "Now get into your truck and start driving."

"Whatever," I sighed. "And I would like to point out that it is a word, look it up in the dictionary. I believe it will say something along the lines of 'being satisfactory'."

He laughed, shaking his head, as he made his way over to his car. A silver Volvo. Huh? Didn't strike me as the mom-mobile type.

I got in my truck, groaning loudly. I couldn't go to the library, I didn't want him knowing where I hung out. The station was a no, it would freak him out and dad would give me one of his pity filled looks for going back.

Shit, I had to go home.

I drove there, feeling annoyed that I would be stuck alone for four hours. I could always just drive away when he does.

A few minutes later, I parked in the driveway, jumping out of my truck, tossing my bag over my shoulder. My wrist was hurting a little bit, I would just ice it down tonight, it would undoubtedly be swollen tomorrow. It could be worse though. I looked over at the Volvo, which had stopped, and I could see Edward watching me. Maybe I shouldn't be bringing strangers to my house, enough shit has happened there. I gave him a wave, not to be polite, but to get him to leave.

I walked over to my front steps, sitting down on the top one, grabbing a book from my bag.

"Are you locked out?" I heard after a moment.

"No."

"It's cold out."

"I know."

"Are you going to go inside?"

"No." He sighed loudly, sitting next to me. "You can go."

"When you go inside."

"I'm not allowed to drive home by myself, and now I can't sit on my steps on my own property?"

"Why are you sitting out here?"

I looked over at him, the earplugs still in his ears. Was it just for show? The whole outcast, misunderstood, bad boy act. Maybe he was never actually listening to anything.

"Can you leave?"

"No."

"You don't even know me."

"The school seems to think that we're a married couple on the run. How can you say I don't know my own wife?"

I couldn't help it, I blushed a little. I looked like an eleven year old girl who just met Zac Efron. What a loser.

"You shouldn't believe what other people say."

"I don't. You might want to take your own advice," he smirked, standing up. What was that supposed to mean?

"I never listen to those idiots."

"I don't know, you seemed pretty effected today. It's alright though. You should read the note, it might help you."

With that he lifted his hoodie over his head and walked back to his car, speeding away seconds later. I watched the road for a few moments, before reaching into my pocket and pulling out the piece of paper. I took a deep breath, unfolding the note.\

_When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin _

_The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash_

_How Come - Ray LaMontagne_

_Tombstone Blues - Bob Dylan_

_Failure - Laura Marling_

I reread the note a few more times, trying to understand why he would just list a few songs and nothing else. Edward was definitely a mystery to me, but I didn't completely hate it.

* * *

**Bella and Edward will start playing Truth soon, for those who didn't read the last story, it's basically the game of truth or dare, but only the truth. You can review with questions that you want them to ask each other, I might end up using them :)**


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